1.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing

2.
Flag of China
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The flag of the Peoples Republic of China is a red field charged in the canton with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly. The red represents the communist revolution, the five stars and their relationship represent the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, sometimes, the flag is referred to as the Five-star Red Flag. The flag was designed by Zeng Liansong, a citizen from Wenzhou, the design competition received 2,992 entries, and Zengs design was put into a pool of 38 finalists. After several meetings and slight modifications, Zengs design was chosen as the national flag, the first flag was hoisted by the Peoples Liberation Army on a pole overlooking Beijings Tiananmen Square on October 1,1949, at a ceremony announcing the founding of the Peoples Republic. Other flags used in the Peoples Republic of China use a red background to symbolize the revolution in conjunction with other symbols, the flag of the Peoples Liberation Army uses the gold star with the Chinese characters 8-1. The flag of the Communist Party of China replaces all of the stars with the party emblem, due to government regulations, cities and provinces of China cannot have their own flags, the only sub-national flags that exist are those of the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions. Despite this, at least two cities have adopted flags after the law was passed, the cities of Kaifeng and Shangrao adopted their flags in March 2006 and March 2009 respectively. This implies that the law is repealed or not enforced. On July 4,1949, the working group of the Preparatory Committee of the New Political Consultative Conference created a notice to submit designs for the national flag. Zeng Liansong was working in Shanghai at the time the announcement came out, in the middle of July, he sat down in his attic for multiple nights to come up with designs. His inspiration for the current design comes from the stars shining in the night sky and he thought of a Chinese proverb longing for the stars, longing for the moon, which shows yearning. Later, he realized that the CPC was the savior of the Chinese people. The idea of four small stars came from On the Peoples Democratic Dictatorship a speech by Mao Zedong, yellow also implies that China belongs to the Chinese people, a yellow race. After working out the details of the placement of the stars and their sizes, as of August 20, a total of 2,992 designs were sent to the flag committee, which included input from committee members themselves, such as Guo Moruo and Tan Kah Kee. From August 16 to 20, the designs were viewed at the Beijing Hotel and these designs are collected into a book named A Reference of National Flag Designs. This book was submitted to the newly established Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference for further discussion. However, Zengs design was not included until Tian Han nominated it again, in the morning of September 23, the representatives of the CPPCC discussed the national flags, but came to no conclusion

3.
Qianlong Emperor
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The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. This turned around in his years, the Qing empire began to decline with rampant corruption and wastefulness in his court. Hongli was adored both by his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor and his father, the Yongzheng Emperor, some historians argue that the main reason why the Kangxi Emperor appointed the Yongzheng Emperor as his successor was because Hongli was his favourite grandson. He felt that Honglis mannerisms were similar to his own. As a teenager, Hongli was very capable in martial arts, after his fathers enthronement in 1722, Hongli was made a qinwang under the title Prince Bao of the First Rank. For many years, the Yongzheng Emperor did not designate any of his sons as the crown prince, Hongli went on inspection trips to the south, and was known to be an able negotiator and enforcer. He was also appointed as the regent on occasions when his father was away from the capital. Honglis accession to the throne was already foreseen before he was proclaimed emperor before the assembled imperial court upon the death of the Yongzheng Emperor. The name in the box was to be revealed to other members of the family in the presence of all senior ministers only upon the death of the emperor. When the Yongzheng Emperor died suddenly in 1735, the will was taken out and read before the entire Qing imperial court, Hongli adopted the era name Qianlong, which is composed of the characters 乾 and 隆 and which collectively mean Lasting Eminence. The Qianlong Emperor was a military leader. Immediately after ascending the throne, he sent armies to suppress the Miao rebellion and his later campaigns greatly expanded the territory controlled by the Qing Empire. This was made not only by Qing military might, but also by the disunity. Under the Qianlong Emperors reign, the Dzungar Khanate was incorporated into the Qing Empires rule and renamed Xinjiang, while to the west, the incorporation of Xinjiang into the Qing Empire resulted from the final defeat and destruction of the Dzungars, a coalition of Western Mongol tribes. The Qianlong Emperor then ordered the Dzungar genocide, historian Peter Perdue has argued that the decimation of the Dzungars was the result of an explicit policy of massacre launched by the Qianlong Emperor. Khalkha Mongol rebels under Prince Chingünjav had plotted with the Dzungar leader Amursana, the Qing army crushed the rebellion and executed Chingünjav and his entire family. Poems glorifying the Qing conquest and genocide of the Dzungar Mongols were written by Zhao, Zhao Yi wrote the Yanpu zaji in brush-notes style, where military expenditures of the Qianlong Emperors reign were recorded. The Qianlong Emperor was praised as being the source of eighteenth-century peace, the Dzungar genocide has been compared to the Qing extermination of the Jinchuan Tibetan people in 1776, which also occurred during the Qianlong Emperors reign

4.
Qing dynasty
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It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the base for the modern Chinese state. The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, in the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing Banners, military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into an entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, in 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Central Asia, the early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used khan to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the system in dealing with neighboring territories. The Qianlong reign saw the apogee and initial decline in prosperity. The population rose to some 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, corruption set in, rebels tested government legitimacy, and ruling elites did not change their mindsets in the face of changes in the world system. Following the Opium War, European powers imposed unequal treaties, free trade, the Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the deaths of some 20 million people, most of them due to famines caused by war. In spite of disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order. The initial gains in the Self-Strengthening Movement were destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895, in which the Qing lost its influence over Korea, New Armies were organized, but the ambitious Hundred Days Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi, a conservative leader. Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries competed with reformist monarchists such as Kang Youwei, after the deaths of Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor in 1908, the hardline Manchu court alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on October 11,1911, led to the Xinhai Revolution, General Yuan Shikai negotiated the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12,1912. Nurhaci declared himself the Bright Khan of the Later Jin state in both of the 12–13th century Jurchen Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan. His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng. The character Qīng is composed of water and azure, both associated with the water element and this association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water

5.
Hong Taiji
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Hong Taiji, sometimes written as Huang Taiji and also referred to as Abahai in Western literature, was an Emperor of the Qing dynasty. He was responsible for consolidating the empire that his father Nurhaci had founded and laid the groundwork for the conquest of the Ming dynasty, although he died before this was accomplished. He was also responsible for changing the name of his people from Jurchen to Manchu in 1635, the Qing dynasty lasted until 1912. It is unclear whether Hong Taiji was a title or a personal name, written Hung Taiji in Manchu, it was borrowed from the Mongolian title Khong Tayiji. That Mongolian term was derived from the Chinese huang taizi 皇太子. Alternatively, historian Pamela Crossley argues that Hung Taiji was a title of Mongolian inspiration derived from hung, early seventeenth-century Chinese and Korean sources rendered his name as Hong Taiji. Hong Taiji was very used in Manchu sources, because they observed a taboo on the personal names of emperors. In redacted documents, Hong Taiji was simply called the Fourth Beile or fourth prince, historian Mark Elliott views this as persuasive evidence that Hong Taiji was not a title, but a personal name. Western scholars used to refer to Hong Taiji as Abahai, Hong Taiji was never mentioned under this name in Manchu and Chinese sources, it was a mistake first made by Russian clergyman G. V. Gorsky and later repeated by sinologists starting in the twentieth century. Giovanni Stary states that name may have originated by confusing Abkai with Abkai sure. Though Abahai is indeed unattested in Manchu sources, it also have derived from the Mongol word Abaġai. According to another view, Hong Taiji was mistakenly referred to as Abahai as a result of a confusion with the name of Nurhacis main consort Lady Abahai, Hong Taiji was first Khan of the Later Jin and then Emperor of the Qing dynasty, after he changed its name. His title as Great Khan was Bogd Khaan and his reign names, which were used in his lifetime to record dates, were Tiancong 天聰 from 1627 to 1636, and Chongde 崇德 from 1636 to 1643. Hong Taijis temple name, by which he was worshipped at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, was Taizong 太宗 and his posthumous name, which was chosen to reflect his style of rule, was Wen Huangdi 文皇帝, which means the culturing emperor or the emperor of letters. Hong Taiji was the son of Nurhaci, whom he succeeded as the second ruler of the Later Jin dynasty in 1626. Although it was thought of as gossip, he was said to be involved in the suicide of Prince Dorgons mother. This is speculated because at the time of Nurhacis death, there were four Lords/Beile with Hong Taiji as the lowest rank, but also the most fit one

6.
Kangxi Emperor
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The Kangxi Emperors reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. However, since he ascended the throne at the age of seven, actual power was held for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Kangxi Emperor is considered one of Chinas greatest emperors. The Kangxi Emperors reign brought about stability and relative wealth after years of war. He initiated the period known as the Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong or High Qing and his court also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary. Born on 4 May 1654 to the Shunzhi Emperor and Empress Xiaokangzhang in Jingren Palace, the Forbidden City, Beijing and he was enthroned at the age of seven, on 7 February 1661. His era name Kangxi, however, only started to be used on 18 February 1662, large bright eyes lighted up his face, which was pitted with smallpox. Before the Kangxi Emperor came to the throne, Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang had appointed the powerful men Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, Sonin died after his granddaughter became Empress Xiaochengren, leaving Suksaha at odds with Oboi in politics. In a fierce struggle, Oboi had Suksaha put to death. The Kangxi Emperor and the rest of the imperial court acquiesced in this arrangement, in 1669, the Kangxi Emperor had Oboi arrested with the help of his grandmother Grand Dowager Empress Xiaozhuang, who had raised him. And began taking control of the empire. He listed three issues of concern, flood control of the Yellow River, repair of the Grand Canal, the Grand Empress Dowager influenced him greatly and he took care of her himself in the months leading up to her death in 1688. The main army of the Qing Empire, the Eight Banners Army, was in decline under the Kangxi Emperor. It was smaller than it had been at its peak under Hong Taiji and in the reign of the Shunzhi Emperor, however. In addition, the Green Standard Army was still powerful with generals such as Tuhai, Fei Yanggu, Zhang Yong, Zhou Peigong, Shi Lang, Mu Zhan, Shun Shike and Wang Jingbao. The main reason for decline was a change in system between the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors reigns. The Kangxi Emperor continued using the military system implemented by his predecessors. According to the system, a commander who returned from a battle alone would be put to death and this was meant to motivate both commanders and soldiers alike to fight valiantly in war because there was no benefit for the sole survivor in a battle. By the Qianlong Emperors reign, military commanders had become lax and this was because commanders statuses had become hereditary, a general gained his position based on the contributions of his forefathers

7.
Yongzheng Emperor
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The Yongzheng Emperor, born Yinzhen, was the fifth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from 1723 to 1735, a hard-working ruler, the Yongzheng Emperors main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, the Yongzheng Emperor used military force to preserve the dynastys position and his reign was known for being despotic, efficient, and vigorous. Although the Yongzheng Emperors reign was shorter than that of both his father and his son, the Yongzheng era was a period of peace and prosperity. The Yongzheng Emperor cracked down on corruption and reformed the financial administration and his reign saw the formation of the Grand Council, an institution which had an enormous impact on the future of the Qing dynasty. Yinzhen was the son but the fourth prince of the Kangxi Emperor to survive into adulthood. His mother, who is known as Empress Xiaogongren, was originally a court attendant from the Manchu Uya clan. Around the time when Yinzhen was born, his mother was of low status and she died when Yinzhen was just 9 years old. After the birth of children, Yinzhens mother was promoted to a pin and then to a fei. However, the defei refused to raise her first son at that time, the Kangxi Emperor did not raise his children only inside the palace. He also exposed his sons to the world and gave them a rigorous education. Yinzhen accompanied his father on inspection trips around the Beijing area. He became the leader of the Plain Red Banner during the Battle of Jao Modo between the Qing Empire and the Mongol Dzungar Khanate led by Galdan Khan. Yinzhen was made a beile in 1689 and promoted to junwang in 1698, in 1709, the Kangxi Emperor stripped his second son Yinreng of his position as crown prince. Yinreng had been the prince for his whole life, his removal left the position of heir open to competition among the Emperors remaining sons. In the same year, the Kangxi Emperor promoted Yinzhen from junwang to qinwang under the title Prince Yong of the First Rank, Yinzhen maintained a low profile during the initial stages of the succession struggle. To appoint a new heir, the Kangxi Emperor decreed that officials in his court would nominate a new crown prince. The Kangxi Emperors eighth son, Yinsi, was the candidate preferred by the majority of the court as well as many of the Kangxi Emperors other sons

8.
Daoguang Emperor
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The Daoguang Emperor was the eighth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1820 to 1850. His reign was marked by disaster and internal rebellion, that is, by the First Opium War. The Daoguang Emperor was born in the Forbidden City, Beijing and it was later changed to Minning when he became emperor, The first character of his private name was changed from Mian to Min to avoid the relatively common character Mian. Mianning was the son of Yongyan, the 15th son of the Qianlong Emperor. In 1796, Yongyan was enthroned as the Jiaqing Emperor, after which he made Lady Hitara his empress consort, Mianning was favoured by his grandfather, the Qianlong Emperor. He frequently accompanied his grandfather on hunting trips, on one such trip, at the age of nine, Mianning successfully hunted a deer, which greatly amused the Qianlong Emperor. In 1813, while he was still a prince, Mianning also played a role in repelling and killing White Lotus invaders who stormed the Forbidden City. This action earned him important merit in securing his claim to the later on. In September 1820, at the age of 38, Mianning inherited the throne after the Jiaqing Emperor died suddenly of unknown causes and he became the first Qing emperor who was the eldest legitimate son of his father. Now known as the Daoguang Emperor, he inherited an empire with Westerners encroaching upon the borders of China. The Daoguang Emperor had been ruling for six years when the heir to the Khojas, Jahangir Khoja. By the end of 1826, the former Qing cities of Kashgar, Yarkand, Khotan, after a friend betrayed him in March 1827, Khoja was sent to Beijing in an iron litter and subsequently executed, while the Qing Empire regained control of their lost territory. During the Daoguang Emperors reign, China experienced major problems with opium, Opium had started to trickle into China during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, but was limited to approximately 200 chests annually. By the time of the Qianlong era, this amount had increased to 1,000 chests,4,000 chests by the Jiaqing era and more than 30,000 chests during the Daoguang era. The Daoguang Emperor issued many imperial edicts banning opium in the 1820s and 1830s, which were carried out by Lin Zexu, Lin Zexus efforts to halt the spread of opium in China led directly to the First Opium War. With the development of the First Opium War, Lin Zexu was made a scapegoat, meanwhile, in the Himalayas, the Sikh Empire attempted an occupation of Tibet but was defeated in the Sino-Sikh war. On the coasts, technologically and militarily inferior to the European powers, in 1811, a clause sentencing Europeans to death for spreading Catholicism had been added to the statute called Prohibitions Concerning Sorcerers and Sorceresses in the Great Qing Code. The Daoguang Emperor granted the title of Wujing Boshi to the descendants of Ran Qiu, the Daoguang Emperor died on 25 February 1850 at the Old Summer Palace,8 km/5 miles northwest of Beijing

9.
Guangxu Emperor
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This is a Manchu name, the clan name is Aisin Gioro. The Guangxu Emperor, personal name Zaitian, was the emperor of the Qing dynasty. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, under Empress Dowager Cixis influence, only from 1889 to 1898. He initiated the Hundred Days Reform, but was stopped when the empress dowager launched a coup in 1898. His regnal name, Guangxu, means glorious succession, Zaitian was the second son of Yixuan, and his primary spouse Yehenara Wanzhen, a younger sister of Empress Dowager Cixi. On 12 January 1875, Zaitians cousin, the Tongzhi Emperor, breaking the imperial convention that a new emperor must always be of a generation after that of the previous emperor, candidates were considered from the generation of the Tongzhi Emperor. Empress Dowager Cian suggested choosing one of Prince Gongs sons to be the next emperor, instead, Cixi nominated Zaitian and the imperial clan agreed with her choice. Zaitian was named heir and successor to his uncle, the Xianfeng Emperor, rather than his cousin and predecessor and he ascended to the throne at the age of four and adopted Guangxu as his regnal name, therefore he is known as the Guangxu Emperor. He was adopted by Empress Dowager Cixi as a son, for her part, she remained as regent under the title Holy Mother, Empress Dowager while her co-regent Empress Dowager Cian was called Mother Empress, Empress Dowager. Weng instilled in the Guangxu Emperor a notion of having to emphasise his filial piety towards the Empress Dowagers Cixi, in 1881, when the Guangxu Emperor was nine, Empress Dowager Cian died unexpectedly, leaving Empress Dowager Cixi as sole regent for the boy. However, Cixi had been suffering from ill health. During this time, the imperial eunuchs often abused their influence over the boy emperor, the Guangxu Emperor reportedly also had begun to hold some audiences on his own as an act of necessity. In 1887, the Guangxu Emperor would have been old enough to begin to rule in his own right, however, the previous year, several courtiers, including Prince Chun and Weng Tonghe, had petitioned Empress Dowager Cixi to postpone her retirement from the regency. Despite Cixis agreement to remain as regent, by 1886 the Guangxu Emperor had begun to write comments on memorials to the throne. In the spring of 1887, he partook in his first field-plowing ceremony, eventually, in February 1889, in preparation for Empress Dowager Cixis retirement, the Guangxu Emperor was married. Much to the dislike, Cixi had selected her own niece, Jingfen, to be the empress. She also selected a pair of sisters, who became Consorts Jin and Zhen, the following week, with the Guangxu Emperor married, Cixi retired from the regency. Even after the Guangxu Emperor began formal rule, Empress Dowager Cixi continued to influence his decisions and actions, despite residing several months of the year at the Summer Palace

10.
Nurhaci
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Nurhaci was a Jurchen chieftain who rose to prominence in the late 16th century in Manchuria. Nurhaci was part of the Aisin Gioro clan, and reigned from 1616 to his death in September 1626, Nurhaci reorganised and united various Jurchen tribes, consolidated the Eight Banners military system, and eventually launched attacks on Ming China and Joseon Korea. His conquest of Ming Chinas northeastern Liaoning province laid the groundwork for the conquest of the rest of China by his descendants and he is also generally credited with ordering the creation of a new written script for the Manchu language based on the Mongolian vertical script. Nurhaci is written as ᠨᡠᡵᡤᠠᠴᡳ in the Manchu language, the meaning of the name in the Manchu language is the skin of a wild boar. Regarded as the father of the Qing dynasty, he is given the customary temple name of Taizu. His name is alternatively spelled Nurgaci, Nurhachi, or Nu-er-ha-chi. Nurhaci was the last chieftain of the Jianzhou Jurchens and First Khan of the Later Jin dynasty and his title in Manchu as Khan was Geren gurun-be ujire genggiyen Han ᡤᡝᡵᡝᠨ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᠪᡝ ᡠᠵᡳᡵᡝ ᡤᡝᠩᡤᡳᠶᡝᠨ ᡥᠠᠨ. His regnal name was Tianming, in Mongolian Tengri-yin Süldetü and it means The Emperor of Heavens Mandate. He was given a name in 1736, the shortened form of which was Emperor Gao. Being a member of the Gioro clan of the Suksuhu River tribe, Nurhaci also claimed descent from Möngke Temür, according to Chinese sources, the young man grew up as a soldier in the household of the Ming dynasty general Li Chengliang in Fushun, where he learned Chinese. He named his clan Aisin Gioro around 1612, when he ascended the throne as the Khan of the Later Jin dynasty. In 1582, Nurhacis father Taksi and grandfather Giocangga were killed in an attack on Gure by a rival Jurchen chieftain, the following year, Nurhaci began to unify the Jurchen bands around his area. In 1584, when Nurhaci was 25, he attacked Nikan Wailan at Tulun to avenge the deaths of his father and grandfather, Nikan Wailan fled away to Erhun, which Nurhaci attacked again in 1587. Nikan Wailan this time fled to Li Chengliangs territory, Later, as a way to build relationship, Li gave Nikan Wailan to Nurhaci, who beheaded Nikan Wailan immediately. With Lis support, Nurhaci gradually grew his strength in the following years. In 1593, the Yehe called upon a coalition of nine tribes, the Hada, Ula, Hoifa, Khorchin, Sibe, Guwalca, Jušeri, Neyen, and they were defeated at the Battle of Gure and Nurhaci emerged victorious. From 1599 to 1618, Nurhaci set out on a campaign against the four Hulun tribes and he began by attacking the Hada in 1599 and conquering them in 1603. In 1599, Nurhaci gave two of his translators, Erdeni Bagshi and Dahai Jarguchi, the task of creating a Manchu alphabet by adapting the Mongolian script, in 1606, he was granted the title of Kundulun Khan by the Mongols

11.
Dorgon
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Dorgon, formally known as Prince Rui, was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. After Huangtaijis death in 1643, he was involved in a struggle against Huangtaijis eldest son, Hooge. Both of them came to a compromise by backing out and letting Huangtaijis ninth son, Fulin, become the emperor. Dorgon served as Prince-Regent from 1643–1650, throughout the Shunzhi Emperors early reign, in 1645, he was given the honorary title Emperors Uncle and Prince-Regent, the title was changed to Emperors Father and Prince-Regent in 1649. Dorgon also introduced the policy of forcing all Han Chinese men to shave the front of the heads and he died in 1650 during a hunting trip and was posthumously honoured as an emperor even though he was never an emperor during his lifetime. A year after Dorgons death, however, the Shunzhi Emperor accused Dorgon of several crimes, stripped him of his titles, Dorgon was posthumously rehabilitated and restored of his honorary titles by the Qianlong Emperor in 1778. Dorgon was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the 14th son of Nurhaci and his mother was Nurhacis primary consort, Lady Abahai. Ajige and Dodo were his brothers, and Huangtaiji was one of his half-brothers. Dorgon was one of the most influential among Nurhacis sons, and his role was instrumental to the Qing occupation of Beijing, during Huangtaijis reign, Dorgon participated in many military campaigns, including the conquests of Mongolia and Korea. He fought against the Chahar Mongols in 1628 and 1635, after Huangtaiji died in 1643, Dorgon became involved in a power struggle with Huangtaijis eldest son, Hooge, over the succession to the throne. The conflict was resolved with a compromise - both backed out, and Huangtaijis ninth son, Fulin, ascended the throne as the Shunzhi Emperor, since the Shunzhi Emperor was only six years old at that time, Dorgon was appointed regent and became the de facto ruler. In 1645, Dorgon was conferred the title Emperors Uncle and Prince-Regent, Later, in 1649, the title was changed to Emperors Father and Prince-Regent. It was rumoured that Dorgon had an affair with the Shunzhi Emperors mother, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and even secretly married her. Whether they secretly married, had an affair or kept their distance remains a controversy in Chinese history. On 17 February 1644, Jirgalang, who was a military leader but appeared uninterested in managing state affairs. After an alleged plot by Hooge to undermine the regency was exposed on 6 May of that year, Hooge was stripped of his princely title, Dorgon soon replaced Hooges supporters with his own, thus gaining closer control of two more banners. By early June 1644, he was in control of the Qing government. In early 1644, just as Dorgon and his advisors were pondering how to attack the Ming Empire, on 24 April of that year, rebel forces led by Li Zicheng breached the walls of the Ming capital

12.
Xianfeng Emperor
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The Xianfeng Emperor, personal name I-ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861. Yizhu was born in 1831 at the Old Summer Palace, eight kilometres northwest of Beijing and he was from the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, and was the fourth son of the Daoguang Emperor. His mother was the Noble Consort Quan, of the Manchu Niohuru clan, who was made Empress in 1834, and is known posthumously as Empress Xiaoquancheng. Yizhu was reputed to have an ability in literature and administration which surpassed most of his brothers, which impressed his father, yizhu succeeded the throne in 1850, at age 19, and was a relatively young emperor. He inherited a dynasty that faced not only internal but also foreign challenges, yizhus reign title, Xianfeng, which means Universal Prosperity, did not reflect the situation. In 1850, the first of a series of popular rebellions began that would destroy the Qing dynasty. The Taiping Rebellion began in December 1850, when Hong Xiuquan, Hong then proclaimed the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the rebellion spread to several provinces with amazing speed. The following year, the Nian Rebellion started in North China, the Qing imperial forces suffered repeated defeats at the hands of both rebel movements. In 1853, the Taiping rebels captured Nanjing and for a while it seemed that Beijing would fall next, but the Taiping northern expedition was defeated and the situation stabilized. The Xianfeng Emperor dispatched several prominent mandarins, such as Zeng Guofan and the Mongol general Sengge Rinchen, to crush the rebellions, the biggest revolt of the Miao people against Chinese rule in history started in 1854, and ravaged the region until finally put down in 1873. In 1856, an attempt to regain Nanjing was defeated and the Panthay Rebellion broke out in Yunnan, meanwhile, an initially minor incident on the coasts triggered the Second Opium War. Anglo-French forces, after inciting a few battles on the coast near Tianjin, the Xianfeng Emperor, under the influence of his Noble Consort Yi, believed in Chinese superiority and would not agree to any colonial demands. He delegated Prince Gong for several negotiations but relations broke down completely when a British diplomat, on 18 October 1860, the British and French forces went on to loot and burn the Old Summer Palace and Summer Palace. Upon learning about this news, the Xianfeng Emperors health quickly deteriorated, during the Xianfeng Emperors reign, China lost part of Manchuria to the Russian Empire. After that treaty, the Russians founded the city of Vladivostok in the area they had annexed, while negotiations with the European powers were being held, the Xianfeng Emperor and his imperial entourage fled to Jehol province in the name of conducting the annual imperial hunting expedition. The Xianfeng Emperor died on 22 August 1861, from a life of overindulgence. His successor was his surviving son, Zaichun. A day before his death, the Xianfeng Emperor had summoned Sushun and his supporters to his bedside, by tradition, after the death of an emperor, the emperors body was to be accompanied to the capital by the regents

Examination rooms in Beijing. In order to enhance their legitimacy among the Chinese elite, the Qing reestablished the imperial civil service examinations almost as soon as they seized Beijing in 1644.

A man in San Francisco's Chinatown around 1900. The Chinese habit of wearing a queue came from Dorgon's July 1645 edict ordering all men to shave the front half of their head and wear the rest of their hair in a queue similar to those of the Manchus.